1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an animated audio doll for simulating a living object with audio-visual characteristics, and more particularly to an economical animated doll that can be manufactured and assembled within minimal cost and production tolerance constraints.
2. Description of the Prior Art
People in general and children especially are fascinated when an inert object, such as a doll, can be animated to provide lifelike characteristics, such as moving eyes and mouth with the coordination of sound. An early example in the patent literature can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,114,851 wherein a ventriloquist's dummy is disclosed with coordinated eye and mouth movement. Subsequently, animated figures were coordinated with sound and with motors to move various parts of the body, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,711,603 wherein a motorized mannequin is capable of changing facial expressions including the movement of its mouth. Another example can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,641,866 wherein a mechanized movable doll could also incorporate a sound producing mechanism to simulate a voice. Numerous examples exist of animated sounding toys, such as dolls, wherein a synchronization of a sound producing device is coordinated with the movement of both a mouth or a pair of lips and eyes, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,230,665, U.S. Pat. No. 3,264,778, U.S. Pat. No. 3,210,887, U.S. Pat. No. 3,353,296, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,364,618. The latter two patents represent the work of one of the present inventors and disclose a phonograph player in the trunk of a doll that would produce sounds that could be coordinated with both movable eyes and a mouth to produce a lifelike animated doll. The prior art is also aware of the alternative use of tape players with replaceable tape cartridges instead of phonographs positioned in the body of a doll to produce audible sounds with appropriate synchronization of the mouth movement, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,287,849 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,685,200. It has also been known to encode a tape cartridge with control signals coordinated with audio signals in slide projectors and toys.
The rapid advancement of relatively inexpensive electronic component parts plus the miniaturization of electronic parts have permitted doll designers to design complex motions and sounds to be generated in dolls and other toys, such as robots. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,451,911 discloses a microprogrammable doll with audio features.
Finally, various amusement parks have provided animated figures with coordinated body movements and audio sounds from tape players controlled through servo feedback systems that monitor the position of the moving components.
Thus, the ability to either combine a phonograph unit or a tape player with synchronized mouth and eye movements has been common knowledge in the toy field for over 20 years. The allure of more sophisticated miniaturizing of electronics that are well known in the toy industry has encouraged the manufacturers to make more complex and elaborate animated audio toys, such as robot toys and dolls that can provide a number of toy play options to children.
While technology has become more sophisticated and the dissemination of this information is commonplace in the toy field, the ultimate user of the product is still a relatively young child. Thus, numerous sophisticated features may be appealing to an adult in buying the toy, but there is still a limitation as to the amount of money that the average purchaser is willing to spend on a luxury item, such as a toy. Additionally, children require a relatively rugged and tolerant toy that will not only function on its first day of purchase, but will be able to withstand the rigors of prolonged child's play.
Thus, there is still a demand in the toy field for a relatively economical, animated audio doll having an easily manufactured structure with relatively loose tolerance specifications to permit variables to occur without affecting the performance of the doll and that further can be subject to the relatively rigorous demands of the child during play.